Archive for January, 2014

Today Bruce Berry & I were privileged to attend the commemoration of the crash of a warplane in Saughall Massie in 1944. The accident happened on the 9th January 1944 when 2nd Lt. Jay Frederick Simpson was killed. The event was organised by Doug Darroch from Fort Perch Rock, who heads the Warplane Wreck Investigation Group. Flowers were placed on the plaque on the bridge on the by-pass near to the site of the crash. The flowers were laid at 3.08pm, the exact time of the crash

The aircraft was a US Airforce P47 Thunderbolt, the engine of which now resides in the museum at Fort Perch Rock. The engine was recovered by the group in 1973. 2nd Lt Jay Frederick Simpson was laid to rest at the American Cemetery, Madingley, Cambridge.